She accepts offer from the DA, who cites woman's 'mental status' in taking death penalty off table.

Updated 7:24 am, Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Elyse Marsyl Colon, 22, is escorted out of the San Antonio Police Department headquarters on Feb. 2, 2010. Colon stood outside her North Side home and met police by holding out her hands and saying, "I just killed my babies." Colon was charged with two counts of capital murder. Bond was set at $1 million on each count.

Elyse Marsyl Colon, 22, is escorted out of the San Antonio Police Department headquarters on Feb. 2, 2010. Colon stood outside her North Side home and met police by holding out her hands and saying, "I just

METRO Tom Cruz Zuniga and Birdie Zuniga finish a prayer after placing a teddy bear in the front yard of 166 Weizmann Thursday. An apartment in the backyard of this address was the scene of a double murder of children Wdnesday. Tom Reel/Staff February 3, 2010.

METRO Tom Cruz Zuniga and Birdie Zuniga finish a prayer after placing a teddy bear in the front yard of 166 Weizmann Thursday. An apartment in the backyard of this address was the scene of a double murder of

METRO Multiple killings of children on Weizmann on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

METRO Multiple killings of children on Weizmann on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

Photo: TOM REEL, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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METRO Suspect in multiple killings of children on Weizmann is escorted out of PD on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

METRO Suspect in multiple killings of children on Weizmann is escorted out of PD on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

Photo: TOM REEL, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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METRO A crime scene investigator peers in at the scene of multiple killings of children on Weizmann on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

METRO A crime scene investigator peers in at the scene of multiple killings of children on Weizmann on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

Photo: TOM REEL, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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METRO Multiple killings of children on Weizmann on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

METRO Multiple killings of children on Weizmann on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

Photo: TOM REEL, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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METRO Multiple killings of children on Weizmann on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

METRO Multiple killings of children on Weizmann on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff

Photo: TOM REEL, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Mother, 24, to get life for killing sons

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A San Antonio mother who told police she fatally stabbed her two young sons as part of a failed murder-suicide attempt after a night with friends smoking crack cocaine agreed Tuesday to spend the rest of her life in prison.

A lengthy jury-selection process had been set to begin next week for the death penalty trial of Elyse Colon, 24, who in February 2010 called 911 and casually told a responding officer, “I just killed my babies.”

She quietly entered guilty pleas before state District Judge Juanita Vasquez-Gardner for two counts of capital murder of a child younger than 6. With prosecutors dropping the death penalty request as part of the plea deal, the only other sentencing option was life in prison without parole.

Emergency responders found Jose Luis Garcia, 3, and Guillermo Garcia, 1, side by side on a bed — covered by a blanket, a crucifix and the knife that had been used to stab each of them in the chest up to 13 times.

The boys, who attended Christ Our Savior day care and were both described by caseworkers as developmentally disabled, wore blood-soaked T-shirts that read “Monster Squad — Grr” and “I'm definitely up to something.” On a nearby dresser, police found open bottles of household cleaners, some of which had been poured into a Bill Miller Bar-B-Q cup.

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In an interview with police, Colon said she had fallen off the wagon and was afraid her children would be put in foster care if she tested positive for drugs. Thinking she'd never see them again, she came up with the idea of killing them the next morning while coming down from the crack high, she told police.

“Elyse said that she was thinking that they would all be together,” police noted in court documents. “Elyse said it didn't turn out that way.”

After drinking some cleaners, Colon said she lay down next to her sons but then threw up.

“I hope they give me the chair,” she reportedly said as detectives asked her what she thought her punishment should be.

“Unfortunately, they don't do that anymore,” an officer replied.

Colon had many stresses in her life: unemployment, an abusive relationship, the father of her children getting deported, an upcoming eviction and a visit the day before the killings from Child Protective Services, defense attorney Celeste Ramirez said after Tuesday's brief hearing.

“Everything was just overwhelming her and it ended up in tragedy,” Ramirez said. “She's been remorseful ... She loved her kids, and there has never been any doubt about that.”

While prosecutors were prepared to seek the death penalty, they began to consider life without parole “based on what we thought were appellate issues, her mental status and what a jury might do,” District Attorney Susan Reed said.

Colon, who was in special education before dropping out of Lee High School in 10th grade, didn't meet the Supreme Court guidelines for mental retardation, but she was a borderline case, Reed said. That was considered along with her lack of a prior criminal record and three previous suicide attempts, Reed said.